Pieces
of mixed media by artist Donna Rondeau are on display at the Windham Public
Library now through April 30th. Rondeau said she has been "drawing and
painting since I could hold a crayon and brush. I trained in Boston for a few
years after high school at the School of Practical Art in Boston. In 2001 I
received a bachelor of fine arts in art from University of Maine, Gorham.” A
variety of watercolors and prints are on display, giving a much-needed burst of
color and imagery to these long winter days. Stop by the library for a look at
these colorful, scenic paintings. The Windham Public Library is located at 217
Windham Center Road in Windham. For more information, library hours, or
directions, please call the library at 892-1908 or visit www.windham.lib.me.us
.

On
Thursday, February 6, a combined group of students from Windham Christian
Academy and student from Taiwan in the Up In Maine program visited with Senator
Gary Plummer (left) at the State Senate.

“Mr. Plummer warmly welcomed the group, talked with them, and took photos just
before last Thursday's session. He was terrific!” said Up In Maine organizer
Nathaniel Bennett. “The senate president recognized our group and all the
senators stood for an ovation. We then went to the museum for a special
talk and hands-on activity about the Malaga Island archaeological work and then
a wonderful presentation on rocks and minerals.”

For the last 28 years it has
been my honor to serve the citizens of Cumberland County through the Cumberland
County Sheriff’s Office.I’ve worked
diligently to make our community a safer place to live, and the organization I
admire, a better place to work.But I
believe I still have more to do…more to offer…more to accomplish!

I am proud to announce my candidacy for Cumberland County
Sheriff for a second term.

During my first term as
Sheriff, we have increased the number of civilian volunteers in our Volunteers
in Police Service (VIPS) who continually give back to their community by
assisting the Cumberland County Sheriff’s Office with non-law enforcement
activities that make our communities a little safer.In addition to our VIPS program, in 2012, we
started a law enforcement Explorer post whereby we train young adults from 14
to 21 years of age in various aspects of police work.It is my intent to provide the young adults of
Cumberland County an opportunity to also give back to their community, but also
develop leadership skills under the guidance of the Cumberland County Sheriff’s
Office and the Boy Scouts of America.

I have already begun to
complete our law enforcement accreditation process, strengthen our board of
visitor program and continue to develop programs to reduce recidivism in our
jail by working on some of the mental health issues plaguing our jail
population.

We’ve made some technological
improvements such as license scanners for all of our patrol vehicles, facial
recognition software to compare photos of suspects against the 70,000 booking
photos that we have in our jail database and we are beginning to put computers
in the pods of the jail, so that correction officers can have up to date
information on the inmates assigned to his or her pod.

Also, we have made great
strides in improving our inter-agency cooperation by developing a memo of
understanding with several police departments throughout Cumberland County to
provide evidence collection and preservation services, should an agency need
assistance beyond their staffing abilities.Furthermore, in the last three years, we have added police officers from
the Falmouth and Cumberland police departments to our tactical team which is
comprised of deputies from the Cumberland County Sheriff’s Office and officers
from the Westbrook Police Department.

In addition to earning a
Master’s degree in business administration and attending various executive
training programs sponsored by the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), I
have diligently and with honor, advanced through the ranks at the Cumberland
County Sheriff’s Office.I have worked
with three previous Sheriffs that taught me many great lessons. As the 50th
Sheriff of Cumberland County, I have applied this knowledge and lessons learned
to improve the services, offered by the Sheriff’s Office, in addition to the
quality of life of the people we serve.

My command staff and I recently
developed a strategic plan.We
determined areas of the Sheriff’s Office which could be improved and we have
developed committees consisting of employees from all ranks to ensure as many
peopleas possible would have input on
the improvements.

The men and women of the Cumberland County Sheriff’s
Office work diligently to provide the citizens of Cumberland County a great
service and I am proud to continue to lend my dedication to service and
leadership as Sheriff, to continue their quest.

February 15, 2014

Raymond
Fire Rescue is pleased to announce the promotion of David Mains to Fire
Prevention Officer. The position carries an administrative rank of Lieutenant. The
swearing in ceremony took place on January 29 at the department's quarterly
dinner meeting. David will administer the GO program and work with full-time
staff and Safety Officer Cliff Small performing inspections. David is a great
asset to RFD, as he works full time as an architect and has a thorough
knowledge of fire codes and NFPA regulations. David has been a member of RFD
since 2008.